Italian professor awarded the ‘Frank J. Malina’ Medal for astronautics

Franco Bernelli Zazzera, full professor at the Politecnico di Milano, has been awarded the 2026 Frank J. Malina Medal for Astronautics, an award presented annually by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) to the academic who has most distinguished themselves through excellence in utilising the resources at their disposal to promote the study of astronautics and space sciences.

Franco Bernelli was awarded a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 1990. In November 1992, he became an associate professor and, in March 2001, a full professor at the same university, where he currently teaches and conducts research in the fields of space flight mechanics and aerospace control systems. At the Politecnico, he served as Erasmus coordinator for aerospace engineering, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Director of Studies in Aerospace Engineering and Head of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology. He has served as president of Pegasus, the European network of aerospace universities, and of the Council of European Aerospace Societies. He also coordinated the Perseus project, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme and aimed at defining measures to improve the quality of European graduates in the aerospace sector. He is currently the Rector’s delegate for international relations at the School of Industrial and Computer Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano.